Stalking Ground (2 page)

“You can call him off now, Deputy. I give up.”

“Robo, down.”

Robo dropped into a down position, but his posture said that he was ready to go again any time.

Madsen, Robo’s trainer, pulled off his helmet. Sweat glistened on his shiny, bald head and dripped down to roll across the tattoo of a policeman’s badge above his right ear. He grinned up at Mattie. “Well, he’s surely your dog now, Deputy. No doubt about it.”

Mattie smiled back. “He’s every bit the dog you made him, Sergeant. No one could ask for a better partner.”

“Congratulations. Now go play with your dog, and we’ll debrief here in a few minutes, after I get the hell out of this goddamn bite suit.”

Mattie told Robo to come with her as she pulled off her helmet and walked out into the sunshine. She felt the sweat drip down her scalp, and she ran her fingers through her hair, inviting the breeze to cool her head. Robo gamboled alongside, nosing her utility belt.

“Just wait a minute,” she told him. “Let me take off your vest first.”

She undressed Robo, gave him some water, and then took out his tennis ball, his reward for a successful exercise. Mattie tossed it out into the parkway. His nails skittered and caught as he turned to run after it.

Officer Red saluted her and gave her a quick smile before turning to uncuff his two prisoners. They all started to peel off their protective gear. The Simunition they’d used for the exercise was a form of nonpenetrating ammo, but it could still pack a punch on an unprotected body. These trainings were critical for Robo to teach him new abilities and to keep his
entire skill set sharp. Not to mention how they enhanced the bond that was growing between Mattie and him as partners.

Mattie played with Robo, looking forward to an evening of drinks and camaraderie with her fellow trainees. She threw the ball and her dog bounded after it, bringing it back with a jaunty step and a proud look on his face. He gave it up readily and backed off, waiting for the next throw with eagerness apparent in his toothy grin. He would retrieve the ball as many times as she could throw it.

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. Pausing, she took it out, noticing the call came from the sheriff’s office in Timber Creek. “This is Deputy Cobb.”

Chief Deputy Brody’s gravelly voice rumbled through the receiver. “We’ve got a situation here, Cobb. We need you to come back tonight.”

“What is it?”

He paused for a split second. “Adrienne has gone missing.”

Adrienne Howard, Brody’s girlfriend. “She’s missing?”

“Yes. She disappeared yesterday afternoon. I haven’t seen or heard from her since.”

Mattie tried to think of what to say next. Brody wouldn’t want to hear it, but Adrienne could have left town on her own. Maybe even to get away from Brody; she doubted that any relationship with the chief deputy could be easy.

“She’s been missing only twenty-four hours?”

“Sheriff McCoy authorized filing a missing person’s report, even though it’s a day early. There’s no doubt about her status. When can you get back to Timber Creek?”

Mattie didn’t share his certainty, but there was nothing she could do about it. “I have one more debriefing and then I’ll leave. I should be back in about five hours.”

“ETA at seven o’clock this evening, then?”

“Yes.”

“Come right to the station. The sheriff or I will be here.”

“Affirmative. See you then.”

“And Cobb . . . thanks. We need your help on this one.”

“Sure, Brody.”

She disconnected the call, reflecting on the strain she’d heard in Brody’s voice. He really was infatuated with the woman. She hoped he wasn’t in for a big letdown. Right now, she’d bet that Adrienne Howard had run away from him. Even though Brody wasn’t on her best-friends list, she’d hate to see him brokenhearted.

Cole Walker, DVM, tied the last knot, picked the scissors out of the stainless steel tray his daughter Angela was holding for him, and snipped the suture. He leaned back on his heels and inspected the neat row of stitches he’d placed on the horse’s leg.

“Thanks, Angel,” he said, using the nickname he’d given his fifteen-year-old daughter when she was a toddler. “Now could you get that blue wrap from the counter?”

She turned away to retrieve it.

“This wound is superficial,” Cole told the owner, Garrett Hartman. “It should heal well, though it’s likely to leave a scar.”

The craggy rancher pushed his Stetson back on his head. “That’s okay. This fella works cows, not the show circuit.”

The quarter horse gelding stood steady and quiet in the stocks, a metal stanchion designed to hold horses while they were being worked on. His dark bay coat glistened in the overhead light that Angela had switched on as the sunlight waned. After dinner, she’d come out to the clinic to help Cole with this emergency while his youngest, eight-year-old Sophie, stayed at home with their new housekeeper, Molly Gibbs. Since his attempts at day help had all been tremendous failures, Cole was trying something new: a live-in housekeeper. He was desperate for this new arrangement to work out.

Angela handed him the wrap, her fingers pale and thin against the blue elastic bandage. She reminded him of his ex-wife, willowy and blonde, while his youngest took after him, sturdy and brunette.

“Leave this bandage on for two days and then take it off to check the wound. If it looks clean, you can apply an ointment that I’ll give you and rewrap it. If you’re concerned about how it looks, give me a call, but I don’t think you’ll have any problems with it.” Cole rolled the bandage over a gauze pad he’d placed on top of the sutures. “How’s Leslie doing these days?”

Cole noticed that Angela watched Garrett, awaiting his answer. He and his wife Leslie were the parents of one of her best friends, Grace, a girl who’d been murdered a few months ago.

Garrett cleared his throat. “She’s doing as well as can be expected, I guess. We’re awful lonely. You could come out and see us sometime, Angie, if you want.”

The girl nodded. “I’d like that. Maybe tomorrow after school?”

“Sure, I’ll tell Leslie.”

“Can Mrs. Gibbs take me and Sophie out together, Dad?”

“Okay,” Cole said. “Would it be all right for Sophie to visit too, Garrett?”

Lines crinkled the weathered skin around the corners of Garrett’s light blue eyes. It did Cole’s heart good to see his friend smile, something lacking the last few times they’d visited.

“Sure,” Garrett said. “Leslie will be glad to see both you girls.”

Angela ran a hand down the gelding’s back and then used her fingers to rub in a circular motion along each side of his spine. Cole recognized the technique Adrienne Howard had taught her for relaxing the muscles that connected to the
vertebrae. The gelding’s eyelids drooped as he visibly melted under her touch.

Although many owners across the country were using therapeutic massage to help rehabilitate performance horses with strained muscles and injuries, Cole had to wonder if it would ever catch on with the ranchers around Timber Creek. Adrienne seemed dedicated to learning and practicing these specialized techniques, and she’d been willing to work at no charge, so several of Cole’s clients had offered their horses to help enhance her training. Only time would tell if she could turn her volunteer work into a form of income.

“Dad, what did you find out about Adrienne?” Angela asked as she continued to massage the gelding. “Did you call her work?”

“Yeah. The lady I talked to said they don’t know where she is.”

“What’s this about?” Garrett asked.

“Adrienne Howard. She works and lives out at Valley Vista hot springs. She’s a massage therapist the kids and I met about a month ago. She’s been coming to the clinic to practice massage on horses.”

“She was supposed to come this afternoon, but she didn’t show,” Angela said.

“Maybe she forgot,” Garrett said. “I seem to do a lot of that lately.”

Cole shook his head. “I doubt it. She had several appointments, and it’s not like her to miss them.”

“There’s no reason for concern, is there?” Garrett said.

But Cole could read the concern in his friend’s eyes anyway. And why wouldn’t he worry? After what happened to Grace, they all did. “I don’t know what to think. Anya, the therapist I talked to, told me Adrienne worked yesterday morning
at the hot springs, business as usual. She was scheduled to have the afternoon off, but she didn’t come home last night. I don’t know . . . maybe she just decided to take off. People do that sometimes.”

“I’d sure be worried,” Garrett said with a frown.

“Apparently her coworkers notified the sheriff’s office that she’s missing.”

“Have you called Mattie to ask her what’s going on?” Angela asked.

“No, Mattie’s in Denver today at a training exercise. She’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll check in with her then.”

“We need to do something before tomorrow, Dad.” Angela’s tone sounded reproachful, nothing new to Cole. He’d had a hard time pleasing his eldest lately.

“I’m sure the sheriff’s office is taking care of things,” Cole said, hoping that would put her mind at ease.

But Garrett wasn’t ready to rest easy either. “What if she’s the victim of foul play, like our Grace? We need to see how we can help find this lady. I’ll call the sheriff’s office and see if he wants to mobilize the sheriff’s posse to search for her.”

Cole had joined the sheriff’s posse himself after Grace’s death last summer. The group of mounted volunteers helped with crowd control at county events and rodeos, as well as search and rescue in the local wilderness area.

Angela was giving Cole a look that he found irritating. “It’s a big country we’ve got here,” he said, trying to explain. “I don’t know where we’d start to look. Maybe Adrienne decided to leave town on her own. We don’t know yet if she’s truly missing.”

“Well, we’ve got to do something to find out. We can’t just sit around and wait,” Angela said.

“We might not have a choice.” Cole finished wrapping the gelding’s leg and stood. “I tell you what. I’ll call Sheriff McCoy and see if they know anything yet. Why don’t you go ahead and load this guy, Garrett. Maybe by then we’ll have some answers.”

Cole released the end of the stocks and swung the side bar wide, so Garrett could back the gelding out. Its shod hooves scraped the concrete floor as it moved out of the equine treatment room. Angela followed Garrett and the horse outside, leaving Cole alone as he pulled out his cell phone and scrolled to the sheriff’s office phone number. The trouble with drug traffic through town last summer had made him cautious, and he’d placed both Deputy Mattie Cobb and the sheriff’s office on his contact list.

A woman answered the phone. “Timber Creek County Sheriff.”

Cole identified himself. “I’m a friend of Adrienne Howard’s, and I’m worried about her. I’m wondering if I could talk to Sheriff McCoy.”

After only a brief time on hold, Cole recognized the sheriff’s voice immediately. Its deep, rich timbre was unmistakable. “Hello, Cole. I understand you’re calling about Adrienne Howard.”

Cole explained the relationship he had with Adrienne and how she’d missed her appointment earlier in the day. “The kids and I are worried about her, so I thought I’d call and see if anything had changed.”

The sheriff hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully. “We’re taking her absence seriously, Cole. I’m concerned enough that I’ve authorized a missing person’s report.”

“I don’t know Adrienne very well, but it seemed out of character for her not to show up today. Is there anything I can do?”

“What time were you expecting her?”

“At three o’clock. She schedules horse clients at my clinic.”

“That’s good to know. We need to interview people who worked with Adrienne. Can you make a list of clients that she’s seen in the past few weeks? We’ll need names and phone numbers.”

“We have some confidentiality issues that would prohibit me from doing that, but I’ll do my best. Angie and I can make a list tonight and get permission for you to call. I don’t anticipate any problems with that. We’ll have it for you as soon as possible.”

Garrett and Angela came back into the treatment room, Garrett’s eyes searching out Cole’s. The grief that lingered in his friend’s face caused an icy tingle to run up Cole’s spine, giving him a bad feeling.

“I have Garrett Hartman here at the clinic with me, Sheriff. If you get a lead that calls for a search party, let us know and we’ll activate the posse.” Cole hesitated but decided to go ahead and ask. “When do you expect Deputy Cobb to return?”

“She’s on her way right now. We expect her around seven.”

It seemed odd, but knowing Mattie would return soon made him feel a little better.

Cole said good-bye and disconnected the call. He shared the details he’d gleaned from the sheriff with Garrett and Angela. Anxiety pinched his daughter’s face. She’d formed a bond with Adrienne while they worked together here at the clinic. Angie had been through a lot lately. First his divorce, then Grace’s death, and now this. The strain was beginning to show.

“Come here, Angie,” Cole said, sheltering her under his arm and bringing her close for a one-arm hug. “The sheriff
wants us to make a list of Adrienne’s clients. That gives us something we can do to help.”

“You and your sister are still welcome to come out after school tomorrow,” Garrett told her.

Angela nodded. “Tell Leslie hello for me.”

Garrett’s face lightened somewhat. “I surely will. She’ll be happy to hear from you. I’d better get on the road now.”

Cole and Angela followed him outside and watched him drive away, down the lane that led past the house and then out to the highway. Cole put his arm around Angela’s shoulders while they stood, and she seemed to take comfort from the gesture.

“Let’s clean up and get started on that list. I need to call everyone before we turn it over to the sheriff, and I’d like to get it to him tonight.”

“Okay.”

As Cole followed her into the clinic, he thanked his lucky stars that his own daughters were here with him, safe at home. If he lost one of them, the way the Hartmans had lost their Grace, it would kill him. The girls’ mother had checked out of their lives last spring and seemed to have turned her back on them. He still couldn’t understand what Liv was thinking. He may never. Didn’t she know what she was doing to her kids?

While he cleaned up the treatment room, he thought of Adrienne. She was dedicated to her profession and was a bundle of energy. Did she have a mother that worried about her? A father? He knew very little about the woman except that she was kind, caring, and had a gift for easing tight muscles in people and horses.

He hoped that everything would be all right and that someone would hear from her soon.